


Forgotten Rhythm

by retrovertigo (ellameno)



Series: The Great Fire [8]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Battle Couple, Bonding, Canon Compliant, Cardiophilia, F/M, First Aid, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Heartbeat Kink, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Kindred Spirits, Medical, Robot/Human Relationships, Slow Burn, realistic consequences for video game combat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-27 23:29:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10819017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellameno/pseuds/retrovertigo
Summary: When Nora finds herself in a pinch, Nick finds something he lost ages ago.





	Forgotten Rhythm

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I'm back! Thanks again to [seaweedredandbrown](http://archiveofourown.org/users/seaweedredandbrown/pseuds/seaweedredandbrown) and [Coldharbour](http://archiveofourown.org/users/coldharbour) for beta-reading!
> 
> Content warnings that double as spoilers are on the end notes, if any of the tags worry you. (I promise it's nothing bad since we have Stimpacks in this universe... and probably much more tame than the game itself!)
> 
> [Edit on 10-01-18: Fixed some grammar.]

         “Those weren’t your run-of-the-mill raiders, those were  _professional_  droppers,” Nick grumbled, looking over his shoulder one last time as they climbed back up the small hill to the modest property they’d staked out. The sharp odor of gunpowder still lingered in the once floral air, slightly throwing off his senses.

         “Yeah, they seemed pretty tough. Not tough enough,” his companion said flippantly, though her breathing was quite heavy. Nora was not as jubilant in her victory this time, hopefully learning a lesson about getting too cocky.

         He’d been to this neck of the woods many times, having friends and ex-clients who lived nearby. Never in his years had he considered it a particularly  _dangerous_  place. Sure, you had your occasional wasteland critters, but raiders? Gunners?

         Perhaps his new associate’s reputation was getting a bit too widespread for their own good. Someone might’ve even put a hit on her, God forbid. She’d stumbled upon and taken out entire mercenary operations, with nothing but her keen marksmanship and possibly dumb luck. That was enough to warrant a target on her back.

         A near century of experience as a cop and detective told him she should lie low, but damn if  _he_  could stop her. She’d blossomed from someone meek and unassuming into an uncontrollable force of nature. A woman with an insatiable desire to help those in need. At least he was here by her side. He could take a bullet or two, head on if need be.

         “Honestly, kid, why on Earth did you go running in there, guns blazing?” Nick queried with a hint of ire. He was used to Nora taking the more cautious sniper route in combat — in fact, he preferred it.

         She shrugged one shoulder. “Thought I could scare ‘em off, usually they...” She stopped dead in her tracks. Nick’s hand hovered over his weapon, wondering if she’d caught wind of more danger. His sensors had picked up nothing— “ _Haha._  Hold on.”

         Nora sat down hard on the uneven ground, a little  _too_  hard to be deliberate, startling him.

         “Are you alright?” Nick asked, trying to disguise his worry.

         “Yeah, totally.” She smiled, though the stiffness of it said otherwise.

         He eyed her with skepticism. “Y-You sure…?”

         She laughed, but it was faint, color rapidly draining from her face

         Nick knelt down in front of her, grasping her wrist reassuringly, not quite sure what else to do. His left thumb stroked her skin in an attempt to calm her. He watched her eyes as she tried to focus them.

         “I think I just got a lil’ light headed,” she said softly.

         “Heatstroke maybe?” he suggested. It  _was_  unseasonably warm today.

         “Yeah, that’s probably it. My skin kinda... burns.”

         “Then we should get you someplace cooler. Can you stand now?”

         “Yeah.”

         He carefully helped her up, but she lost her footing once more. Nick caught her with his deft reflexes, and she fell clumsily against him. Circuits still buzzing from the fight, he realized he could feel a steady rhythm against his own chest; Her heartbeat.  _That_  was not a sensation he’d felt in a long  _long_  time. He averted his gaze out of embarrassment, habit and modesty. For her sake, he told himself. After all, feeling such a thing was an intimate experience for them to share and he would hate stepping over any boundary.

         She pushed her weight against his frame, trying to regain her balance. She hissed as one of her arms almost buckled, catching his attention. Something was strange about her shoulder armor... its edge was chipped. Nick adjusted it slightly and gasped.

         “Goodness, you’re bleeding!”

         “What?” She squinted at him.

         “No wonder you’re falling over like a baby Radstag. C’mere.” He put his arm around her waist and quickly lead her over to a flat-topped boulder. She sat down with a large huff, her head lolling somewhat.

         “Is... Is it bad?” she asked cautiously.

         “Dunno. I’m gonna open up your top and check,” he said, unhooking the shoulder pauldron. “Is that alright?”

         She nodded.

         He undid the buttons and pulled down her shirt slightly. Two small bullets were lodged in her shoulder.  _Yikes_. She’d had scrapes, cuts, bruises and bites, but she’d never gotten  _shot_. The impact could have even fractured something. He would’ve expected her to be in extreme pain, but then again he knew cops on the force who’d mistaken through-and-throughs for mere bee-stings.

         They were at least a day away from a qualified medic but he knew she had first aid supplies in her bag. A stimpack would work wonders, even on broken bone, however Nick would have to take these bullets out himself. Luckily his robotic hands had surgical precision.

         Nora glanced at her wound.

         “Oh sh-shit!” she exclaimed, though still winded. “I got shot!”

         “Yeah well... That’s what happens when you run into a firefight, hun,” he said, trying to downplay the situation.

         “It doesn’t hurt as bad as I thought,” she chuckled, almost deliriously, swiping the beading sweat from her jaw.

         His eyes followed her slim fingers as she rubbed the back of her neck, but a slight movement near her collarbone drew his gaze. He could  _see her pulse_.

         Nick’s metal frame shuddered slightly as small static snaps tapped at the back of his skull. The entire fight (and its aftermath) was turning out to be a test on the number of emotional jolts the old bot could take in short succession. Just how many battles had come and gone without him noticing these things about her? Of course Nora was a flesh and blood human, but it all seemed so damn obvious now.

         “That... that’s a lot of blood, though.” She swallowed hard. “Oh God.”

         “R-Right, it’s OK.” He took a rag out of his pocket and pressed it against the wound. Her poor heart was visibly working overtime. “Hold onto this, it’ll be alright.”

         Nick administered a stimpack to impede the bleeding. He’d gathered Nora hated needles, but she seemed too out of it to object, merely wrinkling her nose.

         He looked back at the shack they’d wired-up together; an attempt to build a comfy outpost and perhaps a future settlement. Inside was a kitchen table and a hanging light — A perfect makeshift O.R.

         “Alright kiddo, if you can’t walk I’m gonna carry you.”

         “Sure,” she replied, head starting to droop.

         He cautiously picked Nora up as if she were made of porcelain. She let out a sharp cry.

         “OK,  _now_  it hurts,” she groaned into his shoulder.

         ---

         He placed her on the table, taking off his trench coat and folding it up to place under her head for comfort. As he rolled up his shirt sleeves, he noticed how her eyes went straight to the exposed machinery of his arm. He’d grown used to being gawked at, but it was different with her — Nora seemed more intrigued than anything. After all, she had called him ‘cool’ on various occasions. He couldn’t deny it was a boost to his self-esteem.

         Nick went through her pack, fishing for medical supplies. For once the useless junk she salvaged would come in handy; there was even a scalpel and surgical tray, of all things.

         He stood over her and sterilized the wound with some alcohol.

         Her breath came in short and shallow gasps as the pain became more visible on her face. The pulse at her throat quickened as he watched. It was quite... distracting. He blinked hard, then instinctively took a deep breath as if it would quell his nerves.

         She made a choked sound. He looked back into her eyes. They were welling up with tears.

         “Hey, hey it’s alright,” he said in a soothing tone.

         “It’s bad, isn’t it.” Her voice was cracking with fear, but it was clear from her tone: this was not a question.

         “No, no, don’t worry.”

         “Don’t lie, Nick, I saw your face.”

         It wasn’t the wound he’d been looking at, but he was too embarrassed to admit it.

         “Heh... ah, that’s my thinking face, hun.”

         “O-Oh.” She relaxed a bit.

         “Anyway, these might leave a mark— but nothing the plastic surgeon can’t fix up,” he assured her. Nora surprised him with a scowl. “Or you can keep the scar, if you like.”

         “Depends... do you like scars, Nick?” she said thickly.

         “O-Oh I, uh...” He chuckled, feeling a little flustered, “With a mug like mine you kinda have to.”

         She mumbled something that had the word ‘face’ in it, but he couldn’t decipher it.

         “You’re gonna need a painkiller, I think.” Nick uncapped the Med-X syringe. She made a nervous noise. “I know, sweetheart, I know,” he said softly.

         Her pulse drummed under his thumb as he tried to find a vein. Nick’s mind went blank for a moment and he almost felt the beat echoing through him. Memories of lost sensations, involuntary functions of the lungs, heart—

         Her breathing hitched.

          _Right._  Now was not the time to space out. She needed him more than ever.

         She screwed up her face, but it soon relaxed as the drugs entered her bloodstream.

         “See? That wasn’t so bad.” He began prying the first foreign object from her shoulder.

         She clenched her teeth, the veins more visible in her neck. “It still hurts.”

         “Here, hold onto me.” He offered his left hand, and she grabbed it quickly, pulling it over her chest. She squeezed tight as he removed the bullet. “You’re halfway there already, just one more time.”

         The second one was a bit more difficult to dislodge. Her grip became even firmer and she let out a strained whimper that shattered his proverbial heart. He whispered more endearments, desperately hoping one would be magic and ease away her pain. The bullet finally came loose.

         “Done,” he said as he dropped it in the tray. She loudly exhaled, her face pink. “Number one rule of the wasteland; always keep a sewing kit,” he added, pulling a tin out of his pocket.

         “Stitches aren’t so bad...” she said hoarsely, “Right?”

         “Right. Bashed my chin when I was a kid. Don’t quite recall  _how_ , but I had to get stitches -- that part I remember. Left a decent scar too.” He thumbed at it. “And wouldn’t you know it, I bashed it in again ‘bout a month into my new body.”

         She giggled, and her demeanor seemed brighter.

         Nick smiled along with her. “Admittedly I’ve never stitched a person before, but I keep my clothes together pretty well.”

         “Am I gonna be as Frankenstien’d as your coat?” she asked.

         He laughed. “If you keep being reckless like that, maybe. So long as I can find the pieces to put you back together again.”

         “Guess if my arm gets blown off maybe I can get a robot one instead... We can be robo-arm twins,” she slurred.

         “Well that’d make us quite a pair,” he quipped while cleaning the wound one last time.

         He took his sewing needle and began the suturing. It... wasn’t quite the same as what he was used to. Fabric was not this  _visceral_.

         “Goodness, didn’t think I could still get squeamish,” he said under his breath.

         “Don’t faint,” she said, eyes screwed shut. “That’s my job.”

         “You don’t faint either. Stay conscious. Look at my face, alright?”

         She swallowed audibly and opened her bleary eyes. He could see her doing her best to focus on his own.

         “It’s almost over, sweetheart,” he cooed. “You’re a trooper.”

         “You too,” she replied, tongue heavy.

         Nick smirked, wondering if the drugs were doing less to block the pain and more to block her cognitive functions. At least she’d gotten through the worst of it.

         He tied the knot as well as he could and she sighed with relief. A quick compress and bandage were applied before he silently raised his hands in the air to signal it was all done.

         He then backed a few paces away, trying to level his buzzing head as he wiped the residual blood off his fingers. Blood... Here on his hands. It reminded him of the people he  _couldn’t_  save, both from his past life and his current one. Who else would be beyond help?

         Something was building inside him, simmering. It boiled like anger but had the queasy feeling of fear. His eyes went to the tray and then to Nora’s newly dressed injury. To her flushed face, her fringe sticking to her sweaty brow. And in his skull, the memory of her pulse echoed around his metal casings. The other Nick had already lost his one true love to a well-placed bullet. How easily this girl could have wound up just like his poor sweet Jenny.

         “Hey.” He picked a bloody metal slug off the tray and brandished it near her face. “You’re lucky you didn’t kiss it all goodbye. Imagine if I weren’t here— imagine if you were just a bit more to the left. Don’t do something that...  _stupid reckless_  again, OK?”

         Nora looked at him with eyes large and glistening as if she was getting scolded. She was no stranger to his critical nature, but he had never been this stern with her. Something felt off-kilter in his chest and he realized it was guilt; he didn’t want to ever cause such a look on her face again.

         His expression softened. “You’re... ah... people are not as indestructible as you might feel, dear... and... I... I’m kinda fond of you, y’know?” he stumbled on his words and gave a tepid laugh, “I enjoy your company, so... I’m not looking forward to giving your eulogy any time soon, alright?”

         She nodded slowly and whispered “Sorry.”

         “Besides...” He smirked, “We’ve got things to do. Gotta take down those Institute goons, remember?”

         “Yeah.” She smiled sleepily. It was a relief to see.

         “C’mon, let’s sit you up a little.”

         “I’m comfortable,” she retorted.

         “I want you to drink something.”

         Nora sighed and reached out her hand for assistance. He brought her upright gingerly but at this point she seemed to be without pain.

         “Blood loss causes dehydration.” He handed her a canteen. “Drink the whole thing,” he said when she wrinkled her nose. She sipped slowly. “Trust me… I’ve been in those shoes. Though Nick had a proper hospital, and an IV and a...”

         Her heavy eyes widened. “No fuckin’ way.”

         “Hey. Language. And yeah...  _way_.”

         “You’re so cool,” she slurred.

         His gaze flicked away instinctively. “No I’m not.”

         “Yeah-huh.”

         “ _Drink._ ”

         She made a disapproving noise but obeyed. Nick had noticed in his combined lifetimes that deep down humans were basically overgrown children — and it didn’t help that Nora was now dripping water down her shirt as she clumsily tried to hold the flask to her lips.

         He could tell the pain-killing drugs were really taking effect now.  He took the canteen back gently; hydration was important, but he didn’t want her to accidentally choke.

         “Will you tell me that story sometime?” she asked lazily.

         “What, about getting shot?” he asked. She nodded, her head lolling. “It’s really not that exciting.”

         “I still wanna know. I wanna know  _everything_  about you.”

         “Ah well, that’s flattering.” Nick chuckled. “But I dunno if you have time for two lives worth of dull anecdotes. Especially if you keep pulling crazy stunts like that.”

         He helped Nora stand and eased her over to the cot in the corner, leaving her his coat for a blanket.

         “Don’t sleep in that, hun, it’s disgusting now.” He gestured towards her bloodied top. “You got something else to put on?”

         “It’s OK, I’ll just sleep without a shirt,” she mumbled, languidly undoing the rest of the buttons.

         He quickly averted his eyes; Nora was too out of it to truly consent to being seen in only her bra. And he was certain he didn’t want to see either. He felt her shove the crumpled clothes into his hand.

         “I’ll try to wash some of the blood out for ya.” He thumbed at the bloodstain. “In the meantime, you should sleep.”

         “Hey Nick?” she called as he turned away.

         “Hmm.”

         “ _Nick._ ”

         He hesitantly looked back. She was lying down and had his coat drawn to her chin.

         “You’re my hero,” she cooed with a mischievous smile.

         He laughed warmly, holding her shirt close to his chest. “Get some shut-eye, kiddo.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Content warning: Superficial surgery, foreign object removal, painkillers via injection.]
> 
> Sorry it's been so long! I had some bad health and then got preoccupied with another ongoing fic that was frustrating me. I'll try to be on a better schedule!
> 
> Also it's **my birthday** this week (the 8th) so if you like what I do and want to help out, please promo, tell your friends, and/or check out my [art blog](http://tommytonebender.tumblr.com/)! The littlest things help a lot!


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